BAGHDAD, August 11, 2008 (AFP) - King Abdullah II of Jordan was holding talks in Baghdad on Monday on the first visit to Iraq by an Arab head of state since the 2003 invasion.

The monarch went immediately into talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on 'the way to improve bilateral relation in all fields,' an official statement said.

King Abdullah had been expected to visit Iraq last month but his trip was delayed for what diplomatic sources in Amman had said were security reasons.